Shifting sands
by Wolfenden
Summary: I really love the Mummy so here's a story that starts inbetween the Mummy and the Mummy returns. Ardeth finds a girl near Hamunaptra but she has no idea who she is! Can Ardeth discover her past and what part does she play in his destiny?
1. Discovery in the desert

Hey this is something a little different from my usual since its not anime, i just really love the Mummy and wanted to make a fanfic for it. It probly won't update it that often since its a kinda spur of the moment thing but i hope you enjoy reading it. I use some Arabic so i'll put the translations in at the bottom.

* * *

Ardeth slowly approached the area the sand storm had just left, he was cautious because it had been located at Hamunaptra and who knows what its purpose had been, nothing was ever simple when it involved that place. The creature may be dead and the city swallowed by the sands but he just didn't trust that place to remain that way.

So he approached on horseback, ready to alert the Medjai at the slightest hint of disturbance, they didn't want to have to deal with Imhotep again.

He almost trampled on her in the end, the girl blended into the desert so well he thought she was a mirage. She lay face down in the sand wearing tattered black robes that barely covered her; her hair was what made her blend in so well. It was the same colour as the sand.

He dismounted and gently rolled her over to see her face. She was very pretty to look at he supposed, he was never much concerned with women, too busy with his training and having fate rest upon his shoulders to be bothered much. But even he could not deny her beauty, her skin was tanned though not heavily and her eyes had the slant of an Egyptian, he wondered about the colour of her eyes. He shifted her robe slightly to cover her the best he could and sat back on his heels.

What was he suppose to do with her? She obviously wasn't Imhotep nor any other mummy, could she just be a traveller that had collapsed? No, this was Hamunaptra, it was no coincidence that he had found this girl here, his only option was to take her back to his people and consult the other Medjai leaders.

He was about to lift her up to put her on his horse when she suddenly gasped and her eyes flew open before shutting again against the glare of the sun. He quickly knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kef halak?" he asked. _How are you?_ She blinked a few times before turning her head slightly to look at him.

"Where am I?" she asked her throat croaking from lack of water. He frowned, maybe she had bumped her head or something else had happened, she didn't seem to know where she was.

"Hamunaptra," he replied helping her to sit up. "I saw the sand storm and came to check on things, lucky for you otherwise you would have died out here."

She frowned and held her head as if in pain, then she looked around slowly.

"Hamunaptra? But there's nothing here," she said confused. "How can this be a city?"

"This is where Hamunaptra once stood," Ardeth told her. "Now it is buried beneath the sand." He paused as she looked around again. "Shismak?" _What's your name?_

"… I don't know," she said frowning. Ardeth's eyes widened, this was more than a simple bump on the head if the girl didn't even know her own name. "Why don't I know my name?" she asked beginning to look fearful. "Its not something you just forget!" He took hold of both of her shoulders and made her look him in the eyes.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked softly not wanting to make her panic. She shook her head frantically.

"Nothing," she whispered. "There is a big black empty hole in my head with nothing to fill it." She looked up at him tears beginning to gather. "There isn't anything there!"

He could tell by her eyes that she was telling the truth, that look of desperate panic was hard to fake and she had no reason to do so that he knew of, she genuinely didn't remember anything.

"Come, I will take you to my people," he said rising and pulled her to her feet. "We will see what we can do."

She nodded and clutched her robe self consciously aware that it didn't cover very much. He sighed and removed his outer layer placing it on her shoulders, she smiled gratefully at him and let him lead her to his horse. He gave her a leg up and stared as he finally noticed her eyes. Grey, the colour of the storm clouds in the rainy season. She blinked at him and bit her lip.

"Are you ok?" she asked nervously. He nodded and smiled at her slightly.

"Aiwa." _Yes. _She blushed slightly and looked down at the horse's neck.

"Umm… I forgot to ask your name," she murmured. He chuckled and swung himself up on the horse behind her.

"Ardeth Bay," he answered. "I'm one of the Medjai."

He nudged his horse into a gallop and concentrated on the ride ahead so he didn't notice her eyes widened at the name Medjai, as if she had heard it before.

* * *

She looked around curiously as they entered the camp, he was lucky there was a meeting of the tribe leaders tonight so he could ask their advice on what to do. Ardeth glanced down at the girl and frowned. They would also have to think of a name for her, calling her girl all the time was demeaning and to be honest she looked old enough that woman would be more appropriate any way.

"Ardeth?" He glanced down at her again. "If I can't remember any thing how is it I know the language we're speaking?" He blinked in surprise, he hadn't thought of that.

"We can assume then that you've spent enough time in this country to know the language even if you weren't born here," he replied. "Any way let us visit the other leaders, they shall help decide what to do."

She nodded and went back to looking around as they rode through camp. Eventually they dismounted outside a large tent in the centre of the camp, Ardeth took her hand and led her inside. The minute they entered she hesitated and stopped.

"What is it?" he asked frowning. "Why do you stop?" She blushed bright red and looked at the floor.

"I can't be presented like this," she whispered. "I'm barely wearing any thing." He paused and looked back at her, she was still only wearing her robe and his outer layer and was showing a lot of skin.

"It is best that they see you as I found you," he replied slowly. "It may give them some clues as to what happened to you." She bit her lip and nodded allowing him to pull her forwards again. "Don't worry, I will find a way to help you."

She smiled then and stepped forward into the firelight so that the other leaders of the Medjai could see her. Instantly murmurs broke out from amongst the group. Ardeth was confused until he looked at her. The firelight had made her skin like pale gold and her hair shone the same colour as the sand at their feet while her grey eyes glimmered in the light, the sight was enough to make any mortal man fall to his knees. She shifted nervously as they all stared at her and looked at him pleadingly. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"As-salam alaykum," he said raising his fist to his chest and forehead.

"Wa alaykum e-salam," was the response.

"I found this girl at Hamunaptra after the sand storm," he said pulling her forward to stand beside him. "Unfortunately she has no memory at all of how she got there, she doesn't even remember her own name." More murmurs broke out as they discussed this.

"At Hamunaptra you say?" asked one of them. "How do we know she doesn't remember?"

"I looked into her eyes," replied Ardeth. "She truly remembers nothing."

"What shall we do with her then?" asked another. "Any thing from that place does not bode well." He felt her bristle next to him as they talked about her as if she was some type of plague.

"It would not do to condemn her to any thing until we know everything," said Ardeth. "It would be cruel especially when she has no memories to make what memories she does have painful." A few of the leaders nodded and there was more talking between them.

"Give her a name Ardeth," said one. "We cannot call her girl, she must at least be called something." He nodded and turned to her considering. She stared back at him unblinking.

"Rimal," he said testing it on his tongue. "Rimal Aasifa."

"You're naming her sand storm?" they asked eyebrows raised. He shrugged.

"I found her after a sand storm, her hair is the colour of sand and her eyes are the colour of a storm," he explained. "I think it's fitting." The other leaders nodded.

"Very well, until we find out who she really is she will stay with your tribe," they said. "You found her so she's your responsibility." He bowed slightly and nudged her out of the tent. "Oh and Ardeth, try find the poor girl some proper clothes."

She turned bright red and hurried out of the tent faster, Ardeth right behind her.

* * *

"I'm terribly sorry for that," apologised Ardeth. She shook her head.

"It's ok, I understand your reasoning and agreed," she replied. She paused, stopping to a stand still. "Rimal Aasifa," she said as if testing the name out on her tongue. "Rimal."

Now he felt slightly ashamed. He had given her a name without asking her opinion at all, shouldn't she have been given the choice herself? What if she didn't like the name he had given her? He bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry, you should have chosen your own name," he mumbled.

"La." _No._ "Rimal Aasifa…" she muttered. "I like it, I also like why you chose it, I wouldn't have known what to name myself." He nodded to himself relieved that she liked the name.

"Let's go find my sisters," he suggested taking hold of her elbow. "They'll find some clothes for you." He led her to a large tent not far from the main tent and opened the flap to let her in. "Badra, Farah! We have a guest!" he called. Rimal hid behind him slightly as the two Egyptian women came into sight and smiled at their brother.

"As-salam alaykum," they said.

"Wa alaykum e-salam," Ardeth replied. "This is Rimal Aasifa," he pulled her forward so she wasn't hiding behind him. "She will be staying with our tribe for a while, as you can see though she doesn't have any clothes." Rimal blushed and scuffed her feet nervously. Ardeth's two sisters circled her taking in her appearance completely, they turned her head this way and that before grinning.

"We'll find her something."

* * *

"So who is she really brother?" asked Badra, she was the older of the two and older than Ardeth himself by two years. She had come out to talk to him while Farah helped Rimal bathe, Ardeth sighed heavily and rubbed his temples.

"There was a sand storm at Hamunaptra," he explained. "I went to make sure nothing was… disturbed, she was just lying there on the ground." Badra raised an eyebrow.

"She appeared from no where at Hamunaptra?" Ardeth nodded.

"To make things more complicated she remembers nothing, not even her name."

"I thought she was called Rimal Aasifa?"

"The other leaders said that because I found her she is my responsibility, so that I should give her a name," he muttered. "She doesn't seem to mind it." Badra nodded.

"So what will you do with her?"

"I promised I'd help her but I don't know where to start since she remembers nothing," he sighed. "Judging from her appearance and her speech I'd say she's a native to Egypt but her hair colour… she must have at least one European ancestor, Egyptians don't have hair that colour." Farah chose that moment to enter their section of the tent.

"Oh please tell me you'll make her your wife brother!" she begged making Badra and Ardeth start with surprise.

"Farah!" cried Badra. "Don't say such things, the poor girl has no memory!" Farah pouted.

"But she's so beautiful!" she protested. "She would make a fine wife, she compliments our brother so well." By this point Ardeth was bright red.

"That is hardly appropriate Farah," he protested. "Besides we have just met today." Farah shrugged.

"So? If she does have no memories then her first memory is of you," she said. "So everything is happening from the beginning for her, there is nothing else before meeting you."

Ardeth hadn't really thought of it that way, it did explain why she practically clung to him once they'd dismounted from the horse, at the moment the only thing she knew was him. He sighed.

"Farah would you and your husband mind if she stayed in your tent with you?" he asked wearily. "It would not be appropriate for her to share a tent with me and she has at least met you." Farah nodded and clapped her hands.

"Of course, I enjoyed dressing her up now I can do it every day!"

"Erm… Farah?" called Rimal from behind them.

They all turned to look and Ardeth couldn't help but stare. Her clothes were entirely black and dark blue as was the Medjai's usual preference and he couldn't help but think it looked good on her. She was actually wearing the same as he, instead of female clothing, he turned to Farah confused but she just shrugged at him.

"She didn't feel comfortable in female clothes," she explained. "So I let her borrow some of yours." Wait... she was wearing his clothes?

"I'm sorry if it bothers you," said Rimal fidgeting. "I just wanted to cover up after wearing that robe but the dresses were too constricting, I couldn't move about easily in them."

He nodded, that was a reasonable excuse. Though it made him wonder how she was used to moving if she thought they were constricting, she spoke as if some of the warriors did when they had to wear cloaks that got in the way of fighting. Hmm… come to think of it maybe she knew how to fight and had subconsciously rejected the clothes because she knew they would restrict her ability. It seemed there were many things that he had to find out.

"Rimal," he said catching her attention. "While you are here you will be staying in Farah and her husband's tent." She looked like she was about to protest so he held up a hand to stop her. "It would not be appropriate for you to share with me since neither of us are married." He blinked and checked her ring finger, nope no ring there. "It would be best if you stay with Farah." She nodded and set about putting on her turban to conceal her sand coloured hair.

"But I'll still see you, right?" she asked pleadingly.

His sisters exchanged looks but he understood where she was coming from. If he truly was the first memory she had now it wasn't surprising she was clinging to him so much, right now she needed someone she left she could trust and that just happened to be him.

"Yes you will still see me," he said smiling. "Although I'm the leader of our tribe I still get involved in a lot of the work. If you like you could come help me," he suggested. She nodded eagerly and smiled before wrapping the rest of her turban to cover her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

"I would like to help you," Rimal said cheerfully. "I owe you my life, you have taken me in and are trying to help me… I want to help you any way I can in return."

He nodded to her smiling, considering what she was going through that was a very good attitude to have and a strong sense of moral. She was going to fit in to his tribe just fine.

* * *

Here are the Arabic translation though i did put some of them in italic after they were said.

Hello: as-salam alaykum

Hello (response): wa alaykum e-salam

Yes: aiwa

No: la

How are you?: kef halak?

What's your name?: shismak?

Rimal: sand

Aasifa: storm (as in a cloud storm for rain)

Badra: full moon

Farah: joyful

Ardeth: blooming meadow (its the only definition i can find plz someone tell me if its wrong!)

Please review remember i won't be updating this one that often.


	2. Time moves on

Here's the next installment of Shifting Sands!

Hope you enjoy, sorry it took a while to get put up!

* * *

"Rimal! Come on or we'll be late!" called Ardeth. Rimal stumbled out of the tent still putting on a shoe.

"Coming! Ma'a salama Farah!" she called into the tent. _Good-bye._

"Alla ysalmak!" was her response.

Rimal smiled and caught up to Ardeth who was waiting for her further down the camp. She smiled brightly at him before covering her face and walked with him towards the horses. The two of them were scouting out Hamunaptra, partially because as a Medjai that was Ardeth's job but also to see if they could find any clues as to how Rimal had appeared there.

She has been living with the tribe for nearly a year now and had fit in quite well. Although they'd visited Hamunaptra before in that time and found nothing they still searched in case the shifting sands revealed any thing new. She also came with him on all of his patrols, whereas before he had usually done them alone now she always accompanied him, it felt nice to not be alone so much of the time any more.

They rode towards Hamunaptra in silence, sometimes Ardeth wondered whether she'd become so used to living with the tribe that she'd forgotten she was still missing the memories of most of her life. Except when they came to Hamunaptra she hadn't mentioned her missing memories at all, maybe her mind had replaced the missing memories with fake ones to seem like she had always been with them and it was only when she went to Hamunaptra where he'd found her that she remembered.

"Ah! Ardeth look!" she cried pointing forwards to where Hamunaptra was, he looked forward and his eyes widened in shock.

"What in the name of Allah is going on?" he whispered. They both dismounted and hid behind the rim of a sand dune and watched. It looked as if a very large dig site was being set up where Hamunaptra was. They watched as lights and tents were set up and looked at all the trucks and cars showing the sheer amount of people there.

"What on earth could they be doing?" asked Rimal curiously. Ardeth shook his head.

"What ever they're doing does not bode well," he said. "If they are digging at Hamunaptra they might be looking for the book or even Imhotep." Rimal cringed and went back to looking at the dig site.

"So what are we going to do?" She peered at a car approaching the site. "We'll need to infiltrate it some how, even if it's just to find out what they're doing." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You are _not_ going down there, saghir wahed," he said sternly. "It's too dangerous." She mock glared at him and pouted.

"And you can go? That's not fair!" she complained. "And don't call me that!"

"I'm the leader of the tribe," he sighed. "It's my duty to make sure no harm comes to my people."

"But I'm not one of your people," she said a little sadly. This time he scowled and hit her over the head lightly.

"You're close enough to me that I consider you one," he scolded. "I won't let any thing happen to you, not before I keep my promise to you and not after either."

She looked slightly startled and then turned back to watch the dig site, she never been more thankful to have her face covered so he couldn't see her blush.

"So what will you do?" she asked softly. He sat back on his heels for a minute to think.

"I will go into the camp as a digger," he said slowly. "That way I will be able to get around without it looking suspicious and be able to find out what's going on." She nodded and then turned to face him, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Very well, but do not think I will just leave you there," she growled. "I will be here watching to make sure nothing happens, as you are leader of the tribe it is the tribes duty to make sure nothing bad befalls their leader."

* * *

Rimal watched cautiously as Ardeth once again entered the dig site at Hamunaptra, so far no one had suspected anything and no one was giving him any trouble. He had gathered that they were looking for the book definitely and possibly Imhotep as well since one of the people in charge, a man called Baltus Hafez, kept mentioning about finding their lord. To their knowledge Imhotep was the only mummy at Hamunaptra that fit that description.

One day Ardeth had come back looking very disturbed, a woman had joined the group named Meela Nais and a man named Lock-Nah. Ardeth apparently knew Lock-Nah although she didn't know what their history was, Lock-Nah seemed to hate the Medjai though. It was Meela who really disturbed Ardeth, she seemed to know things no person alive should, certain details that should have been impossible unless they'd been alive at the time Imhotep had been killed.

What got to Rimal was that when these things were mentioned she felt something, almost as if her mind was trying to tell her something, that maybe she should know these things as well and that confused her.

Why on earth should she remember things from over three thousand years ago?

She sat and waited within the shelter of the sand dune, Ardeth was only on the morning shift today so she wouldn't have to wait all day at least. She sighed and removed the veil from her face breathing in deeply. She couldn't explain why she felt so at home in the desert, Ardeth said she'd probably spent all of her life in it even if she couldn't remember. What had he said… the body remembers what the mind forgets. She was sure this was true, she had no memory of being able to fight yet it was obvious she could. She grinned remembering how they'd found that out.

* * *

_~~**Flashback start**~~_

_"Rimal hurry up!" called Ardeth. "We're supposed to be patrolling!" Rimal winced and hurried to catch up._

"_Sorry Ardeth," she huffed. "Farah kept fusing over me." _

_He rolled his eyes and sighed. Farah and Badra hadn't liked the idea of Rimal coming out on patrols with him, they were worried that something would happen to her if they were attacked since it was unknown if she could fight. They'd argued with him so much that this was to be her first patrol, a whole two weeks after he'd decided she could come with him. _

"_My sisters just worry about you," he said. "They don't want you to get hurt." She tilted her head and looked at him confused._

"_And what makes you so sure that I won't?" she asked. "You must be fairly sure since you argued so much for me to come."_

"_It's not likely that we'll get attacked," he explained. "Besides I'll be here if anything does happen, no harm will come to you."_

_A few hours later and she felt like swearing at the complete irony of the situation. Go figure that they would be attacked by bandits and outnumbered ten to one; this was definitely sod's law. _

_She glared briefly at Ardeth for saying they wouldn't be attacked earlier, didn't he know that was tempting fate and with the odds as they were he wouldn't be able to protect her from all of them. She sighed and then blinked in surprise when she realised her body had sunk into a fighting stance of its own accord. She eyed the bandits warily and glanced at Ardeth to see that he'd drawn his sword, she was the only one without a weapon... well she'd have to do something about that. She stood her ground as the bandits charged, Ardeth moved so that they were standing back to back and didn't have to worry about an attack from behind. _

_She turned her glare towards the bandits and shocked everyone when she lashed out punching one of them in the face and breaking his nose. Ardeth used their shock to take down three of them with his sword, Rimal next lashed out with her foot catching one of the bandits in the chest and knocking the wind out of him making him drop his sword. She grabbed the weapon and felt her body fall in to a natural pattern of sweeps and cuts, she was rather amazed that she could fight like this. With both of them having a sword the bandits were defeated in no time, Ardeth cleaned his sword before sheathing it._

"_Well… I guess the body remembers what the mind forgets," he said looking at her amused. "It would appear you're quite capable of taking care of yourself saghir wahed." She scowled at him for the name._

"_I'm not saghir wahed!" she protested as he chuckled and ruffled her hair._

"_Of course not," he laughed. "Come, we shall spar so that we know what exactly you are capable of."_

_~~**Flashback end**~~

* * *

  
_

She smiled in remembrance, that had been the first time he'd called her saghir wahed and she'd complained every time since. Sometimes she called him kaaed sheik, which meant leader, she mainly did it because it annoyed him though. She sighed and drank from her canteen, looking at the position of the sun she realised Ardeth would be finished soon and they could go back to the tribe.

Rimal sighed heavily and began to sing:

"Shalom, shalom may peace be with you,

Through all your days,

In all that you do may peace be with you,

Shalom, shalom,

Shalom, shalom may peace be with you,

Shalom, shalom."

She stopped as she heard foot steps approaching and tensed until she saw Ardeth come over the top of the sand dune. She smiled and waved to him cheerfully.

"As-salam alaykum!" she cried. He waved back.

"Wa alaykum e-salam," he replied smiling slightly. She noticed that he didn't seem particularly happy so decided something must have happened in the night when he had not been at the dig.

"Has something happened?" she asked anxiously. He nodded.

"They have found the book of the dead," he said seriously. She gasped and bit her lip.

This did not bode well, if they found Imhotep now they would be able to bring him back to life again. She looked at him worriedly, she knew he had always taken Imhotep as his burden and that to stop him was his responsibility but that didn't mean he had to do it alone.

"So what are they doing now?" she asked. "Are they searching for Imhotep?" Ardeth nodded gravely.

"Aiwa, now that they have found the book their efforts have doubled to find him," he said. "At the rate they're going it won't be long before they find him." Rimal stomped her foot in frustration.

"Is there nothing we can do?" she hissed. "Can't we do anything to stop them finding him?" He shook his head.

"La, since we don't know where he's buried either and they are constantly at work we can't try find him before them," he explained. "There isn't the time and we wouldn't be able to without it looking suspicious." She gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath.

"So we're just suppose to let them find him?" she cried. He nodded sadly.

"For now that's all we can do." She scowled at his response.

"So what, we're just going to have to kill him again?" Rimal sulked. "We're actually going to wait for them to find him? Once they do they're not going to let him out of their sight!" Ardeth sighed heavily and massaged his temples.

"I'm afraid at the moment we have no choice," he said wearily.

* * *

The Arabic is mostly the same as in the last chapter the only new ones are:

Kaaed Sheik: leader

Saghir wahed: little one (rough translation for this one)

Someone please tell if I got the song wrong i only vaguely remember it.

Please review!


	3. Off to London

**I am so so so sorry that this chapter took so long for me to write!**

**This story was just written on a whim so the updates won't be regular at all, I can only promise that i won't abandon it so it will be finished.**

**We find out a hint about Rimal in this chapter and she meets the O'Connells for the first time.**

**I hope you enjoy this next chapter, so sorry it took so long to come out.  
**

* * *

Rimal shot up from her sitting position by the sand dune when she heard loud cheers from the dig site. She scrambled to the top of the dune and peered over in horror as she realised they'd found Imhotep, she watched with disgust as some of the diggers were then eaten by the scarab beetles that then poured out of the sand. She hoped that Ardeth was keeping well back.

Her stomach twisted itself in knots though when she saw them bring that melted crystal blob out of the sand, which looked to contain Imhotep's body, she shuddered in revulsion and looked around frantically for Ardeth. That stupid pretty boy better not have got himself caught because there was no way she'd be able to get him out easily, if they didn't kill him any way. Rimal breathed a sigh of relief when Ardeth appeared at the edge of the dig site hurrying towards her.

"So, is it him?" she asked edgily. "Did they really find him?" Ardeth nodded sorrowfully.

"Yes, that woman still concerns me as well, she knows too much," he said. "We must go now, they are moving him to London in England where they will resurrect him. There must be something there that they need for his awakening although I'm not sure what." Rimal nodded and pulled herself up onto her horse, following him back to the tribe.

If they were taking Imhotep to London then that would mean they would have to follow, it would be hard though because they wouldn't have the support of the rest of the tribe since they would be going on their own. She was pretty sure Ardeth would try to go on his own but there was no way she was going to let him get away with that, she was definitely going with him, especially after all he'd done to try help her get her memory back, she would help him with his burden.

* * *

It was dark and raining when they arrived in London. It was cold too, now the desert gets pretty cold at night but here combined with the rain and the dark it just made her depressed, she missed the warmth of the desert. Looking around she hadn't thought about how out of place they would be in their Medjai robes, they were nothing like what people wore in England.

They'd received word on their journey that those who had dug up Imhotep were actively seeking the O'Connells, Ardeth's friends in England who had defeated Imhotep last time. Apparently they'd found something on a recent dig, and it seemed Imhotep's followers wanted it for Imhotep. It was lucky that Ardeth had kept in touch so he knew where the O'Connell's house was otherwise they would have wasted valuable time looking for them, how fortunate that they lived in London and were close by.

How close they were didn't seem to matter, they still arrived too late as Lock-Nah and his group kidnapped Evy. The minute they arrived at the house they got into a fight as Lock-Nah and his men were threatening Evy and her son Alex, trying to get something in a chest. Ardeth assumed Rick was fighting elsewhere in the house but they didn't have time to worry about that as Lock-nah's men attacked.

Rimal nodded to Ardeth and crept off in search of Rick to see if he needed help while he stayed and helped Evy. She headed outside when she heard a window smash and arrived in time to see them drive off with Evy in a car, immediately she ran over to Ardeth and the others.

"I'm sorry Kaaed sheik," she mumbled bowing. "It appears I couldn't make it in time to help." He patted her on the shoulder lightly and shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Evy was with me and I got distracted," he said. Rick threw Ardeth against one of the pillars in anger.

"What are you doing here? Scratch that where did they take me wife?" he yelled.

"I don't know, my friend," replied Ardeth taking a picture out of his robes. "But where ever this man is, she will be." It was a picture of Baltus Hafez from the dig site, Alex snatched the picture away.

"I know who this is!" he cried. "He's the curator at the British museum." That immediately filled them with hope as now they knew where to go and better yet it wasn't very far away, they all ran round the back of the house to the car.

"So you're here, the bad guys are here and Evy's been kidnapped," said Rick. "Let me guess."

"Yes, they removed the creature from his grave," said Ardeth, Rimal glanced at him knowing he didn't want to admit to it because it meant that he had failed in his duty.

"Aren't you suppose to make sure that doesn't happen?" cried Jonathan, he jumped slightly when Rimal growled at him and placed a hand on her sword.

"There was a woman with them," explained Ardeth. "She knows things, things no living person should know. She knew exactly where he was buried and where the bracelet was, they were hoping she could lead them to it, obviously she has." Alex pushed up the sleeve of his jacket sheepishly.

"I wouldn't get too nervous just yet," he said, then he described a vision he had seen when he'd put on the bracelet while Ardeth examined it.

"You may have started a chain reaction that could lead to the apocalypse," said Ardeth seriously making Alex go rigid with shock, Rimal rolled her eyes, pretty boy was never very good at breaking it in gently. Rick seemed to think so too because he sighed.

"You lighten up," he said pointing to Ardeth, next to Alex. "You big trouble, you get in the car," he said pushing Jonathan towards the vehicle, then he turned to Rimal. "You… who are you exactly?" he asked while they all got in to the car. "I mean, I can't even tell if you're a guy or not!" he exclaimed as they drove off.

She ignored him in favour of listening to Ardeth explain that the Scorpion King would rise again and raise his army, it didn't matter who she was if they couldn't stop Imhotep. Rick listened until Ardeth had finished explaining before going right back to his previous question.

"Yeah, ok trying to take over the world again, same old story," he rambled. "Now who's the friend you brought with you?"

"I'm Sahibi," she told him, they all stared at her.

"Well at least I know you're a girl now," muttered Rick. "So what Ardeth, you brought your girlfriend along with you?" The Medjai leader sighed in exasperation.

"I brought her a long because I thought she could help," he explained. "There's a possibility that she's connected to all of this." She looked at him sharply her eyes full of questions. "Don't worry, I'll explain later I promise," he told her softly. "Right now we've got to stop them from raising Imhotep!"

* * *

They entered the museum leaving Alex and Jonathan in the car and started searching for Evy. Rimal had been amused when Rick had opened his boot and asked Ardeth which gun he wanted, what was the saying? Boys and their toys. She took one too, although shooting hadn't been a skill she'd had before losing her memory, as was proved the first time Ardeth made her try, but she'd been practicing ever since and had gotten pretty good. They crept through the museum hesitantly listening out for Evy and her kidnappers.

"This feels just like old times," muttered Rick as the mummies in the exhibits started coming to life around them.

"First time for me," said Rimal bluntly. Rick stared at her.

"Are you sure bringing her was a good idea?" he asked Ardeth who sighed.

"Yes, there's no one I trust more to bring on this mission," he said. That was when they came upon them raising Imhotep from the dead, Rimal let her eyes roam around the room before stopping on Meela, her eyes glazed over.

"That woman…" she murmured making Ardeth look at her. "She looks just like Ank-su-namun." Rick raised an eyebrow at her.

"And how does she know that?" he asked Ardeth who shrugged.

"I don't know, it would explain how she seems to know so much about Imhotep though," he said thoughtfully. "Either they resurrected her or that woman is her reincarnation." Rimal pointed suddenly.

"Look, there she is," she whispered.

The two men turned to follow her finger and saw Evy unconscious and tied up being laid down on a table before Hafez opened the Book of the Dead and started reading the incantation. Rimal shifted nervously and watched with dread as the crystal globule Imhotep was in started creaking until it shattered revealing the priest's corpse again. She shuddered in revulsion, that was way beyond disgusting. Ardeth tapped her on the shoulder and pointed towards Evy before nodding at Rick, she nodded to show she understood and crept after Ardeth as he began to move.

She nearly had a heart attack when they started tipping Evy into the fire only for Rick to jump over it knocking her out of the way. She joined Ardeth in shooting at everyone on the floor below while Rick untied Evy. It was with great difficulty that they managed to get out of the museum, who wouldn't have trouble escaping while being shot at by at least two dozen men and running from a three thousand year old mummy. They nearly had a minor panic attack when they got outside and Jonathan and Alex were missing from the car, only to be further shocked when they showed up from round the corner driving a double decker bus.

"Umm… Ardeth," cried Rimal tugging desperately on his robes, he turned around to see what she was pointing at. "I think Imhotep brought his friends with him."

Sure enough four mummified Royal guards were chasing after them jumping from building to building.

"Not these guys again," moaned Rick. "Didn't we kill them already?" Rimal and Ardeth rolled their eyes and cocked their guns.

"They're the undead," said Ardeth. "They always come back." Rimal nodded taking a shot at one of them, blowing its head to pieces.

"Keep coming back like termites crawling out of the wood work," she said cheerfully reloading her gun. Rick shot her a funny look before making his way upstairs.

"You have some weird friends Ardeth," he muttered. Rimal snickered at him.

"Oh, are you including yourself in that remark?"

He glared at her before disappearing upstairs. Evy shook her head in exasperation and kept a tight hold of Alex due to Jonathan's reckless driving. Rick managed to shoot down another mummy before they boarded the bus, which was quite a harrowing experience, especially when Jonathan kept jerking the bus about and throwing them all over the place.

Rimal actually had a moment were she froze while Ardeth was fighting the mummy that had got in down stairs, she'd never been on a bus before and having Jonathan jerk it all over the place wasn't helping her at all. Unfortunately she froze just as the mummy was about to kill Ardeth, luckily Evy had picked up a gun from somewhere and killed it while it was distracted. Rimal collapsed onto the floor when the bus finally came to a halt and sat there staring at the ceiling as Ardeth came to sit next to her.

"Everyone alright?" asked Rick as he nearly tripped down the stairs.

"Yeah, we're fine," said Evy finally letting go of Alex.

"How about you two?" he said turning to the Medjai on the floor. Rimal snorted and rolled her eyes.

"It was my first time on a bus," said Ardeth shakily.

"Mine too," interrupted Rimal. "I don't think I liked it… but that may have been because we were being chased by mummies."

Rick made a noise of agreement before going over to kiss Evy much to the disgust of their son who immediately moved away.

"Get a room," he complained moving towards the back of the bus to see what had happened to the top floor.

That was their next mistake, not paying attention to Alex who was wearing the bracelet because they thought they were out of danger. They weren't.

* * *

Rimal glanced over to him before jumping up drawing her sword.

"Lock-Nah!" she cried as he grabbed Alex bundling him into a car. "Lock-Nah bring that boy back here!"

"Alex!" yelled Rick running past her trying to catch up to the car which was quickly speeding away. He managed to keep pretty good pace with it until it got to the draw bridge and the bridge came up before Rick could get to the other side. The others caught up to him.

"Don't worry my friends," reassured Ardeth, "they can't hurt him while he wears the bracelet, they need him to find the oasis."

"Alex says he saw Karnack when he put the bracelet on," said Rick calming down slightly to think about the situation.

"Well we've got to get there before them or we won't know where they're going," insisted Evy.

"Sounds like we need a magic carpet," murmured Rick absently. Rimal sighed and shook her head.

"I don't understand the english at all," she mumbled. It was then that Evy seemed to notice her properly.

"Oh I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced," she said holding out her hand. "I'm Evy O'Connell."

Rimal gasped slightly when she looked up at Evy seeing her properly now without all the distractions, making everyone look at her in surprise.

"Amirah?" she muttered shaking her head, she grasped her head as if in pain and squeezed her eyes shut. Ardeth grabbed her shoulder to steady her and peered at her face worriedly, taking off her turban to see her better.

"Rimal? What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you hurt?" She shook her head.

"La, I think… I think my memory was triggered," she gasped still holding her head. Ardeth grabbed both her shoulders tightly and looked into her eyes.

"Are you sure? What can you see?" he asked. She winced and screwed her eyes shut as another wave of pain passed through her.

"The robes! The ones you found me in!" she said. "But they're not as tattered, they look like they belong to a priest or something. I was in a temple…" she paused to gasp as the pain grew. "Ardeth I don't think I should try anymore, it hurts!"

"Whose temple was it?" he asked urgently. "Just try remember that!"

"A goddess… it's not one of the great temples," she murmured. "Ma'at! The goddess Ma'at, her temple!" Ardeth relaxed his grip and pulled her into his arms.

"Hush saghir wahed, you can stop now," he whispered. "It's ok now." She went completely boneless and collapsed in his arms, passing out.

"What was that?" asked Rick. "And you just called her Rimal, I thought she said she was called Sahibi!" Evy rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.

"Sahibi means friend," she explained. "She was telling you that she was a friend, Rimal is more likely her name." Ardeth nodded repositioning her in his arms to be carried bridal style.

"Her name is Rimal Aasifa, she is my trusted companion," he said looking down at her. "Unfortunately she has a severe case of amnesia, what you just saw was her memory trying to resurface." Rick waved his hands frantically.

"Whoa there, wait a minute!" he yelled. "Are you telling me you dragged a girl with amnesia in to all this?" Ardeth stared blankly at him for a moment.

"I didn't drag her any where," he stated. "In fact I tried to make sure she didn't follow me, but she seems to be determined to stay with me. Plus there's the fact that I really do think her amnesia is mixed up in all of this." Jonathan looked sceptical.

"How could that possibly have anything to do with this?" he asked.

"I found her at Hamunaptra." There was silence for awhile while they took this in.

"At Hamunaptra?" asked Evy. "Well I must admit that is just a bit more than suspicious, I doubt that she appeared there randomly." Ardeth nodded in agreement.

"That was what I thought." Evy peered at the girl's face as Ardeth held her, then she smiled at Ardeth.

"She's very pretty though Ardeth, maybe you've finally found yourself a girlfriend," she teased. Rick threw his hands up in exasperation.

"That's what I said!" Ardeth smiled slightly shaking his head.

"Ah, my sisters wish that also," he chuckled. "But I wouldn't do something like that to her when she has no memory."

"Always a gentleman," said Evy grinning. The Egyptian nodded gracefully before turning serious.

"We must get to Egypt," he said. "Can you get there soon?"

"We'll leave immediately," said Rick. "I know a guy who can help us when we get there." Ardeth nodded.

"I'll leave that to you then, I must inform the Medjai of what has happened," he explained. "Rimal and I will meet you there."

Then he ran off carrying Rimal in to the night, he'd failed in stopping the creature from being raised again but he would not fail to stop him from raising the army of Anubis. He looked down at the girl in his arms, she would follow him of that he was certain, but that vision she had was peculiar, he had thought she was involved in all of this but that vision was strange.

What was she doing in a temple that had long been destroyed?

* * *

**Kaaed sheik- Leader**

**Sahibi- friend**

**Amirah- Princess**

**La- no**

**Saghir wahed- little one**

**Well those were the translations for those who are curious. **

**Again sorry it took so long to update, i lost track of the story, i had exams, it was christmas, i was ill, i had other stories to update the list goes on as to why it took so long.**

**Also sorry the action scenes are crap, i'm trying to get better at writing them.**

**Oh well please review especially if you can help me with the action scenes!  
**


	4. Dreams

**Wow its been ages since i updated this, so sorry for the long wait. Have no internet at the moment so i'm updating everything via the library computer, its very annoying but i should hopefully have internet soon (prays).**

**Fo finally here's the new chapter of Shifting Sands, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Rimal groaned and rolled over opening her eyes before shutting them again against the glare of lights.

"Rimal? Kef halak?" he asked worriedly. She moaned and grasped her head.

"Urgh! I feel like I got trampled by a horse. Why does my head hurt so much?" she complained.

"Your memories tried to resurface," he told her. "Do you remember what you saw?" She paused for a moment thinking.

"Aiwa, being at the temple of Ma'at…" she looked at him confused. "But… wasn't that destroyed a few thousand years ago?" Ardeth nodded.

"I don't understand why you seem to remember that either," he said frowning.

Rimal looked around finally to figure out where they were. From the looks of things they were inside a cargo plane, which meant they must be going back to Egypt, however she couldn't see the O'Connells anywhere. She turned to Ardeth and gave him a questioning look.

"They're making their own way there, they're going to organise our transportation," he explained. "We have to inform the tribes and work out our strategy."

She nodded and turned her thoughts to what she'd been able to remember before passing out. She had watched it as if she was a spectator, she wasn't actually taking part, seeing herself from an outside view had been really weird.

She'd watched herself rush through streets to the temple of Ma'at followed by a group of Medjai, once she entered the temple she had gone into a side room and cleansed herself before donning the robes. The last thing she remembered was kneeling to pray before the statue of Ma'at.

The Medjai who had been with her weren't dressed like the Medjai she knew either, well not exactly the same anyway, add into the fact that that temple had been destroyed a few thousand years ago and Rimal couldn't understand what she was doing there.

Eventually they touched down in Cairo where they found one of others leaders waiting for them with their horses.

"Did you succeed?" he asked. Ardeth shook his head regretfully.

"We were too late, but we do know what he's after," he said mounting his horse and nudging it into a gallop. "The O'Connells found the Scorpion King's bracelet, their son put it on and saw Karnack, unfortunately Imhotep has taken him so we're going to be chasing after them unless we can get the boy back somewhere along the way." Rimal snorted in amusement.

"I hope he makes life hell for them," she sniggered. "Alex looked like he was capable of causing some chaos, he seems to have caused enough as it is by just putting on the bracelet."

Ardeth rolled his eyes and smiled slightly, she had the weirdest sense of humour. But he was glad she seemed more relaxed now that they were back in Egypt, she had been so tense for most of the time that they'd been in England.

They arrived at their tribe's camp quickly and were led to the main tent were all the tribe leaders had gathered waiting for their return.

"Were you successful?" one of them asked, they seemed resigned as if they already knew that the mission had been a failure.

"No, we were not," replied Ardeth softly.

Rimal bit her lip and tried to refrain from comforting him, since he was a tribe leader he had to take responsibility for his actions but she still thought it unfair that everything should be blamed on him.

Couldn't they see how much it pained him that this had happened? Didn't they know that he had tried everything in his power to stop it, to put things right?

"What do you have to say Rimal?" asked one of them noticing her agitation. She growled and was about to tell them exactly what she thought when Ardeth interrupted her.

"Forgive her, she has recently regained a few of her memories," he explained quickly. "They are highly confusing and we're been unable to make any sense of them so far."

Rimal glared at him briefly, she hadn't wanted them to know about that, they were her memories which meant they were private, the fact that she had so few of them made them even more so.

"Is this true?" they asked in surprise, most of them had given up on her regaining any of her memories.

"Yes," she muttered grudgingly. "But as Ardeth said, they don't make any sense at all, it seemed more like a dream than anything else." They wisely didn't mention the topic any more seeing how reluctant she was to talk about it.

"So what are we going to do about all this?"

In the end they agreed that Ardeth and Rimal would accompany the O'Connells in search of Alex and would keep the other leaders updated via messenger bird. Hopefully they'd get Alex back and be able to find the oasis before Imhotep and stop the Scorpion King from raising the army of Anubis.

* * *

Ardeth and Rimal retired to Ardeth's tent once the meeting was over, where his sisters were waiting for them eager to hear what had happened.

"What was England like?" gushed Farah excitedly.

"Cold and wet," said Rimal bluntly sitting down on the floor. Badra shook her head at her sister's impatience as she brought in a tray of drinks.

"You could at least wait for them to get settled," she admonished. "I'm sure it's been a long and tiring trip." Ardeth nodded tiredly and sat down heavily next to Rimal.

"We failed to stop them from bringing back Imhotep," he said.

Badra and Farah exchanged glances, they knew as much as Rimal how much the responsibility weighed on him sometimes. The failure would hurt, especially if any of the other tribe leaders were vocal about it being his fault.

"And Alex, the O'Connells' son is wearing the bracelet," added Rimal. "Imhotep kidnapped him."

"Will you be going after them?" asked Farah. "How will you find them?"

"Alex told us he saw Karnack when he put on the bracelet," Ardeth told her. "When he gets there the bracelet should show him the next location, this will continue until they reach the oasis."

"Hopefully we'll be able to track them if we can't catch up with them before then," mused Rimal. "They'll have a decent head start by now."

"But you can rest until the O'Connells get here can't you?" asked Badra worriedly. "You'll run yourselves ragged if you keep up this pace." She looked specifically at Rimal. "You Rimal, are going to end up getting yourself killed if you insist on chasing after brother everywhere. You may be strong but there are still many things you have forgotten about."

"Not quite so much any more," remarked Ardeth. "She regained some of her memories while we were in England."

"Really?" exclaimed Farah excitedly. "What did you remember?"

"The temple of Ma'at," replied Rimal frowning. "It was so strange, the temple was destroyed long ago but I remember praying there." They all fell silent for a moment.

"Maybe it was a dream, or a past life," suggested Badra. "Some people can remember their past lives." Rimal scowled and sipped her drink moodily.

"Why is it that I remember my past life then but nothing of this one?" she asked. Farah patted her shoulder in sympathy.

"Why don't you lie down for a while Rimal?" she suggested. "You'll feel better and maybe things will make more sense after you wake up."

Rimal nodded tiredly and Farah led her to the back of the tent which was sectioned off by a partition. Badra and Ardeth waited quietly until Farah returned and told them that Rimal was asleep.

"All of this might be becoming too much for her," Farah commented. "Having to deal with her memory loss and Imhotep… the pressure is just building and building."

"But she won't leave it to me," Ardeth protested. "She insists on coming with me even though she's always worried about her memories. I thought it might be a good thing that she was starting to remember but it just seems to be frustrating her more because they don't make sense."

"Maybe she'll feel better about them once she gets more of them back," said Badra. "This is the first time she's been able to remember anything, once she starts remembering more they'll start making more sense and hopefully she'll calm down about them."

* * *

_Rimal looked around in confusion. It looked like she was in the middle of a forest, all she could see was green which was strange since she was used to being in a desert. In the distance she could see the top of a pyramid where something on the top glinted. She wandered through the trees as if in a daze until she came to the foot of the pyramid with a huge diamond at the top. She turned and watched as the light crept closer and closer to the pyramid, the sun was rising._

Rimal woke up with a start and clutched at her chest, what was that? A memory? Or something else? Ever since she regained that memory in England she'd been feeling… uneasy, as if she was missing something really important that she hadn't been aware of before because she had remembered nothing at all.

She looked around and realised she was still in Ardeth's tent, she quickly scrambled up and pulled back the partition peering into the main part of the tent. Farah was in there preparing breakfast while Ardeth was sharpening his sword, Badra entered at that moment and noticed her peering round the edge of the cloth.

"So you're finally awake," she said smiling. "We told you, you needed the sleep." She blushed and quickly covered her face with her turban amidst their giggles, while Ardeth chuckled at her embarrassment.

"We leave today," he told her as she came closer. "The O'Connells will be in Cairo soon and we must be ready and waiting for them when they arrive."

She nodded but kept quiet, for some reason she could not explain she did not tell them about her dream. It felt that if she told someone something bad would happen.

"Are you alright?" asked Farah in concern. "You're being really quiet." Rimal smiled.

"I'm fine. I just feel a lot calmer this morning," she lied pulling out her own sword to sharpen the blade.

She had a feeling that the dream was not yet finished, she would wait until she saw it through to the end before she told anyone about it.

"I wish the two of you could rest more," sighed Badra. "You need more time or you'll be too tired and make a mistake." Rimal smiled half-heartedly.

"After this is all over we'll have all the time in the world to rest," she told her. Besides, there's plenty of time to rest when you're dead.

"True, for now we can't afford to rest until Imhotep is stopped," commented Ardeth sheathing his blade. "We'll eat, then we travel to Cairo to meet the O'Connells."

They ate quickly then exited the tent and mounted their horses, they trotted to the front of the camp where the other tribe leaders were waiting.

"As-salam alaykum," they greeted to the other leaders.

"Wa alaykum e-salam," was the reply.

Ardeth glanced at Rimal briefly as they rode out, she had been very quiet since she'd woken up, he supposed she might be thinking about her memory but she hadn't been this quiet in the time between recalling it and this morning.

And that memory… it really did make him wonder just who she was. How could she remember something from over three thousand years ago? What did it mean? Why on earth had she appeared at Hamunaptra in the first place? How had she gotten there?

Everything about her was still a mystery but in the year that she'd been here he had come to know what type of person she was. She was a person of strong morals, kind and hard working with a caring heart.

Rimal would do everything in her power to see something through to the end, as stubborn as a mule he thought fondly. He'd also noticed she was fiercely protective and was a very grounded person, she was realistic and never let people take the blame for things that weren't their fault, he should know since she'd told him enough times.

He knew his tribe liked her, it was hard not to when she was so willing to help out all the time, the children loved her because she told great stories and played with them whenever they wanted. He wondered if she had such a great imagination for stories because she could only imagine about her own life.

Ardeth also knew that his sisters hoped he would marry her one day, at first they'd only said it as a joke but as they'd come to know her that hope had become serious. They thought she was good for him, she kept him grounded and always told him when she thought he was taking things too far.

He himself hoped that they could marry one day, it didn't feel right to ask while her memories were missing but hopefully they would return soon what with her already regaining one.

He glanced at her again and smiled, once they'd stopped Imhotep she would have time to regain her memories without putting any stress on her, then he would have all the time in the world to ask her about marriage.

* * *

**Yay i updated!**

**Hope you enjoyed reading it, please review and tell me what you think.**

**I'll try not to leave it so long before my next update.**


	5. Past revealed

**Sorry its been so long since I updated anything I've been really busy with uni... and probably too distracted by reading other people's stories.**

**Any way, hope you like the new chapter and sorry again for it taking me so long.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The Medjai received word that the O'Connells had arrived in Cairo and were meeting a friend of Rick's at an air field, apparently he had a plane and would be able to transport them while they searched for Alex. Hopefully they'd be able to catch up with Imhotep and get Alex back before anything happened to him.

Ardeth and Rimal dismounted their horses then saluted to the other Medjai tribe leaders before they rode off. Rimal turned to smile at Rick in greeting.

"So this is your friend with the plane?" she asked peering round him to look at Izzy who was gaping slightly at her.

"Yep, don't worry if he starts rambling," he told her. "He's just being paranoid."

"Paranoid?! Every time I help you I get shot!" the pilot yelled in protest.

Then they saw what he piloted, apparently he didn't have a plane anymore having traded it for a dirigible. Rick immediately threatened to shoot him until Izzy assured him that the craft was faster than it looked and a lot quieter which made sneaking around easier.

Rick rolled his eyes when he saw that Izzy kept sneaking glances at Rimal when he thought no one was looking.

"Don't even think about it Izzy," he said wrapping an arm around his shoulders companionably. "You see the guy she's talking to?"

"Yes…," he replied slowly.

"Yeah well he's a Medjai and he's rather protective of her," Rick explained cheerfully. "If you try to flirt with her then _he'll_ shoot you and that's not even getting in to what _she_ will do to you." The pilot gulped nervously and hurried away to start loading the dirigible.

"Is everything ok?" asked Rimal curiously as she watched Izzy run off. Rick just smiled.

"Oh everything's just fine."

* * *

They were flying through a thick mist that made seeing where they were going difficult but Izzy had a compass and it wasn't as if there was anything for them to crash into up here.

"Are you ok Rimal?" asked Ardeth frowning. She'd been staring out into the mist for some time and so far hadn't responded when anyone tried talking to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rimal?" She started and spun round blinking at him.

"Ardeth? What is it?" she asked confused. He sighed heavily and his frown grew deeper.

"You were not responding to anyone when we called," he explained. She blinked again and smiled reassuringly.

"Ah… sorry. I was only thinking…" she murmured turning to stare into the mist again. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Must be deep thoughts to drag you away from the here and now."

"Hmm… thoughts that wind their way through the mists of time… journeying across the millennia to reach their intended destination… will they arrive in time for their intended purpose… or will they remain lost in the magnitude of time unable to fulfil the fate that was set for them…" Ardeth stared at Rimal wide eyed as her eyes glazed over. "And now the past intersects with the present… and only time will tell how this shall affect the future… may the gods help us in this turbulent time…" Then without warning she folded in on herself and fell towards the floor.

"Rimal! Rimal!"

* * *

_Her earliest memory was of her father taking her away from her mother, she was about three years old. _

"_Why nb? Why must you take my child?" her mother begged. He stared coolly at her._

"_She is my child too, as such I will not allow her to be raised completely ignorant," he told her. "She may have some uses later in life." _

"_Please nb! Please don't take her from me!"_

"_Omm!" she cried trying to turn back towards her mother. "Omm!"_

_The last time she saw her mother was as her father led her away, she would never forget the look on her mother's tear stained face._

* * *

"_Did you hear?" one of the men whispered. "Things that child said came true again, they say she must be a seer."_

"_What a shame that one such as her has been blessed by the gods," replied another. _

"_At least she is half Egyptian, imagine if she wasn't," sneered a third man._

_She bowed her head and hurried past them, everyone had been talking about her 'predictions'. Her father seemed pleased with the attention it brought but she would rather be left in peace. _

_Why must everyone stare at her now? And why was her heritage all they could think about, there was more to her than that._

* * *

"_Meskhenet, you do understand why you have these lessons don't you?" her father asked sternly. She nodded staring at the hieroglyphs in front of her._

"_Aiwa ab," replied the six year old._

"_There has been a lot of interest lately due to your predictions," he continued. "Many people in the court are asking about you, some with the prospect of choosing you as a wife later on." Her hand tightened into a fist and she closed her eyes. _

_"As such it would be better if you could read and write and have the correct manners already. You will be beautiful Meskhenet, your colouring makes you exotic, unique, there will be many willing to overlook your heritage in light of this and your gift." He raised her head to stare directly into her eyes. "You will help bring honour to your father, yes?"_

"_Aiwa ab."_

* * *

"_So this is your daughter, the seer?" asked the pharaoh from his throne. "Let's see her properly then." Her father nudged her forward and she walked to the bottom of the steps before the throne and bowed. "Let me see your face child." _

_She hesitantly looked up in to the face of the most powerful man in Egypt, it was nerve wracking, she knew that if something went wrong she would be severely punished._

"_You are a beautiful child," he told her with a slight smile. "Your colouring reminds me of my kingdom." Her eyes widened slightly in shock at his remark. "Your hair and skin are golden like the sand and the great sun, your eyes the colour of the rain clouds that bring our precious rain." He paused. "And you are blessed by the gods as a seer, as we are blessed that they chose to give us someone with such a gift. Who is your patron god?" _

"_Ma'at, lord pharaoh," she replied. _

"_Hmm… and why is that?" he asked her._

"_Who better to ask for guidance on the future than the goddess of truth, justice and harmony?" she told him. "After all we all would wish for a good future." His smile grew and he nodded in agreement._

"_A sound reasoning." Then he turned slightly to the girl peeping around the side of his throne. "This is my daughter Nefertiri, you should be about the same age." _

_She almost choked at the hidden suggestion, she was being asked to be friends with the princess!? Nefertiri grinned and bound forward taking her hand leading her off to the side so that they were away from the watching eyes of the court._

"_Hello, I'm Nefertiri," she said happily. "We're going to be really good friends." _

_She blinked and nodded still a bit stunned._

"_Aiwa Amirah." The older girl pouted._

"_Nefertiri," she insisted. "Call me by name!" Meskhenet smiled slightly and nodded._

"_As you wish… Nefertiri." _

_The smile on the princess's face was radiant. _

* * *

_She learnt that the princess was a few years older than her and was so happy to have someone a similar age to talk to. Over the years they grew close as most of the other children of the court were afraid of approaching the princess and thought that Meskhenet was strange. _

_When Meskhenet was ten and Nefertiri was fourteen she was asked to become the princess's personal companion. _

"_Why?" she asked when she was led to her new room next door to Nefertiri's._

"_This way your father can't marry you off to some horrible old man," she replied with a smile. "But he can't protest because it is still an honourable position as you will be under the protection of the pharaoh. Now you can do whatever you want without having to worry about your father." _

_And for that she would serve her Amirah until her last breath and even in death. _

* * *

"_What are we doing Amirah?" she asked curiously as Nefertiri led her through the halls. She tried to ignore the looks the people they passed were giving her, she was so glad that she was under the protection of the pharaoh. _

"_We're going to the training halls," the princess said determinedly. "You need training." She blinked in surprise._

"… _training?" Nefertiri turned to look back at her looking exasperated._

"_Of course! You need to be able to protect yourself Meskhenet! One day someone is going to try to take advantage of you and I won't allow that to happen!" The seer blushed faintly and allowed the princess the lead her into the training halls, and accepted when Nefertiri handed her a dagger. "When we're done no one will dare try anything with you if you don't want it."_

"_Thank you Nefertiri," she replied sincerely._

"_Don't be silly Meskhenet, you're my sahibi! Of course I'm going to help you out with stuff like this," laughed the princess. "Now come on." _

_And so began her instruction in self defense._

* * *

"_Ab wants another wife," sighed Nefertiri looking out from her balcony. Meskhenet blinked looking up from what she was reading. _

"_He is the pharaoh," she pointed out bluntly. "He can have as many wives as he wants." _

_The two girls were now older, seventeen and twenty one, Nefertiri was already due to marry Rameses for the good of the kingdom._

"_I know that but would you want to have to share your husband with so many other women?" the princess huffed. The seer smiled and came to stand next to her._

"_Thanks to you I have a bit more freedom in who my husband will be," she replied. "But you know how often men have more than one wife."_

"_Your husband will only marry you," said Nefertiri smiling. "I'm sure of that." Meskhenet stared at her blankly. _

_"I'm sure that I'm supposed to be the seer, not you," she said making the princess laugh. _

* * *

"_You don't trust her," stated Meskhenet as Nefertiri entered her rooms scowling._

"_No I don't trust Ank-su-namun," she replied. "There is something about her that makes me tense." She turned to her worriedly. "Have you seen anything?" The seer closed her eyes and sighed. _

"_There is darkness over that woman," she eventually said. "Blood and death and a love that will expand millennia." She opened her eyes. "But who dies and when it happens I cannot see."_

"_I see," sighed the Amirah. "Thank you for your insight." _

"_You are my Amirah, my sahibi, thanks is not needed. I will follow you into death itself."_

* * *

"_Ab! La!" screamed Nefertiri. _

_On the balcony opposite they could see Ank-su-namun and Imhotep stab Seti multiple times until he fell to the ground dead. _

_Nefertiri's screams alerted the Medjai and Nefertiri soon ran after them and wept over her father's blood stained body ignoring Ank-su-namun's body which lay a few feet away. _

"_And so the darkness descends upon Egypt as the pharaoh lies dead with his blood staining the ground all because of a woman who fell into a forbidden love," intoned Meskhenet as she watched. "I'm so sorry my Amirah."_

* * *

"_I'm going now Amirah," Meskhenet announced. Nefertiri peered worriedly at her._

"_You will take some guards won't you?" she asked. The seer smiled and nodded._

"_Of course, I know how worried you are, but I doubt anyone is going to attack me," she replied. "The attack on your father was personal, it isn't like he was killed just as an assassination." Nefertiri sighed heavily and hugged her tightly._

"_I know, but I still worry," she told her. "I don't want to lose you too, I'm now a queen of Egypt and I must remain strong, but I can't do that if I don't have you here to support me." Meskhenet smiled, happy that she was so appreciated as a person rather than just as a seer._

"_I'm only going to pray to Ma'at Amirah," she frowned slightly. "Using the Hom Dai on Imhotep has me worried." Nefertiri's face turned to stone._

"_I will never regret ordering his fate," she said. "He killed a pharaoh, my father, he must suffer for all eternity." _

"_I just hope the future will not curse your choice," whispered Meskhenet as she left gathering two Medjai to guard her as she went._

* * *

_She knelt before Ma'at in prayer, the visions she had seen lately had disturbed her greatly, they all concerned what would happen when Imhotep was released. She knew Nefertiri was grieving for the loss of her father which is why the punishment had been so harsh but it was what it would mean for the future that worried her._

"_Please great goddess," she whispered. "Guide me in what to do now, Imhotep has already been cursed with the Hom Dai and I do not wish any of the visions I have seen to come true. I pledge myself to you so that you may use me to prevent him from bringing about a gross imbalance in this world. Please…"_

'_It is rare to see one so devoted,' came a powerful whisper. Her eyes widened and she shook slightly, only a god could be the cause of a presence such as the one she felt. 'Will you really do anything to stop that cursed man?'_

"_Yes, I do not wish for my Amirah to regret her choice for eternity," she replied softly. "If I can help I will do what ever I can, I will do what ever it is you ask of me."_

'_Even if it means leaving your beloved Amirah?' She froze for a moment._

"_If it means I can prevent the things I have seen then I am willing to pay the price and will hope that we will one day see each other again in the afterlife."_

'_Hmm… such a strong will and a good heart,' the goddess murmured. 'Very well, I hereby place the task of seeing Imhotep's defeat on your shoulders, may you carry this burden well.' Suddenly sand whipped up around her and she could hear the shouts of the two Medjai who had accompanied her._

"_Farewell Amirah, I hope we meet again one day," she whispered before all turned black. _

* * *

_Rimal looked around in confusion. It looked like she was in the middle of a forest, all she could see was green which was strange since she was used to being in a desert. In the distance she could see the top of a pyramid where something on the top glinted. _

_She wandered through the trees as if in a daze until she came to the foot of the pyramid with a huge diamond at the top. She turned and watched as the light crept closer and closer to the pyramid, the sun was rising. _

_Suddenly Rick and Alex came bursting out of the trees, running towards the pyramid. She watched with a sense of relief as they just about reached it before the light did. They were safe. The bracelet released from Alex's arm and he threw it as far away from them as possible. They lay there breathing heavily for a while before Rick hugged his son in relief. _

* * *

"Rimal!"

She gasped and shot up into a sitting position grasping her chest. That was…

"Rimal! Are you ok?" asked Ardeth worriedly taking hold of her shoulders.

"I- I'm fine," she said hoarsely. "That was just…" He frowned as she trailed off and turned her face up to his.

"… Rimal?" She smiled faintly at his concern and squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"I just had a vision, that's all," she told him. Ardeth blinked and glanced over the other side of the dirigible where Evy was recovering from her fall off the ship.

"Hmm… Evy also had a vision," he murmured, then blinked in surprise when her face shot in Evy's direction and an intense sad look came over her eyes. "Rimal?"

"Maybe we should see if we saw similar things," she suggested as she rose to make her way over to the others. He nodded absently and held her steady to make sure she didn't fall over.

"Evy," he called catching the O'Connells' attention. "You had a vision? Rimal also had one, she would like to see if you had a similar one." Evy nodded slowly.

"Sure, I don't mind talking about it," she replied smiling ruefully. "It might actually help it sink in for me."

"Are you sure Evy?" asked Rick frowning. "It looked like it was quite stressful for you, I mean, what did you even see that made you react like that?"

Evy turned to Rimal frowning.

"When you first saw me, you called me Amirah," she said. Rick looked confused.

"Amirah, what does that mean?" he asked looking at his wife.

"It means princess," she replied. "You knew who I was in a past life." The girl fidgeted uncomfortably and looked to Ardeth for reassurance.

"It's ok Rimal, maybe this will help you remember who you are," he suggested gently. "Talking to Evy might help make sense of that vision you had." She sighed heavily and continued squirming in her seat.

"I was a princess, Nefertiri, daughter of the pharaoh," said Evy slowly as she thought through the vision she'd had. "I was the protector of the bracelet, that's how I knew where it was. I saw Imhotep and Ank-su-namun kill Seti, the pharaoh… I sent the Medjai to try save him." She paused. "There was a girl, she looked like you," she said turning to Rimal. "Maybe it's your past life, she was always with me until one day she just vanished."

Rimal grimaced stood up abruptly, pacing the deck.

"Rimal, what's wrong?" asked Ardeth worried for his friend. "Are you remembering?" She made a noise of frustration before spinning round to face them.

"That wasn't my past life you were remembering me as," she said. "That was me." They all stared at her as she sighed heavily and sat down. "I remember it all now, I think Imhotep must have called Ank-su-namun's soul back and it triggered memories of the past." She paused. "I don't want this to be true, it means I'm out of my own time and I don't have a place here," she looked very upset. "But I like it here!"

"Calm down Rimal," said Ardeth placing a hand on her arm. "Calm." She took a deep breath before exhaling loudly.

"My name I think was Meskhenet, it means destiny, I was named that because some of the priests believed that I was a seer, that I could see one's destiny and I do remember seeing things like that occasionally. I was an attendant for Princess Nefertiri, it was an honour considering I was the daughter of a noble and a slave," she explained.

"That explains your colouring," muttered Ardeth, she smiled tightly.

"Yes, it was my colouring that caught the attention of Nefertiri, she asked me to become her attendant, being the daughter of a noble I had already been taught to read and write but Amirah taught me to fight too." Her eyes glazed over in remembrance.

"I was always by her side, even that night when the pharaoh was killed. In the aftermath Amirah was distraught, a woman she hadn't liked had killed her father in front of her. When we heard that Imhotep had tried to bring Ank-su-namun back to life and was to be cursed it helped relieve the pain for her a little. When I heard that it was the Hom Dai…" she trailed off. "I didn't want anything to happened, so I went to the temple of Ma'at to pray for guidance, she was the goddess I nearly always prayed to because of my being a seer."

"Ma'at? Who is that?" interrupted Jonathan.

"Well Ma'at was the goddess of truth, justice and harmony," explained Evy. "She was supposed to keep the world in balance and prevent it from falling into chaos." Rimal nodded.

"I knew that if Imhotep was awakened then it would bring about an imbalance, I had even seen a vision of what might happen," she said. "Some of the Medjai came with me to the temple, Nefertiri didn't want me to be unguarded after her father's death, we were very close. I remember praying to Ma'at, asking her to allow me to make sure Imhotep would not bring about imbalance to the world…" she frowned and paused. "After that I don't remember, I think… I think the goddess took me." Rick raised his eyebrow.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, took you?"

"Just that, she took me," said Rimal with a shrug. "There's nothing between going to pray and waking up at Hamunaptra with Ardeth and since I'm pretty sure I remember everything before and after those two events she must have taken my body and soul to a time when I could prevent the imbalance. I guess the reason I didn't arrive when Imhotep woke the first time was because Ma'at had already decided I wasn't needed, but that I would be for the next time."

"So you're saying you travelled through time?" asked Rick incredulously.

"Something like that, is it so hard to believe when you've fought a mummy?" she asked. Ardeth smiled softly and ruffled her hair.

"I'm glad you remember now," he said. "Hopefully you will be able to fulfil your duty… should we call you Meskhenet now?" he asked cheekily. She grinned and shook her head.

"No, that name does not belong in this time. Besides, I like Rimal Aasifa, it's the name you gave me," she told him. Jonathan raised his hand.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "Evy is the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess, Rimal really is her attendant and Rick is some warrior of God?" Rimal nodded. "This is absolutely crazy!"

Rimal laughed with the rest of them but inside her mind was racing. She had prayed that she would be able to prevent the imbalance and allow her Amirah to rest in peace, but what would happen to her once Imhotep and the Scorpion King were defeated? Would she be taken back or would she stay?

She hadn't been mummified and she hadn't been reincarnated, she was physically here the exact same as she had been over three thousand years ago, so what would happen to her once her task was complete? She glanced over at Ardeth and sighed. She truly wished she would be able to stay, she enjoyed living with the tribe, having Badra and Farah tease her and going on patrols with Ardeth.

Although the princess she had loved and served was dead here, Evy did remember and she had never had this much fun living back then, life was much more vigorous here and she had made friends that she didn't want to leave behind. If she was taken back she would never see them again, they would only be able to see her if she was mummified with the Amirah and the tomb was discovered, that wasn't a pleasant thought.

* * *

**So hope you enjoyed reading that, please review and let me know what you think.  
**

**Translations:  
**

**Ab- father  
**

**Omm- mother  
**

**nb- master  
**

**Aiwa- yes  
**

**La- no  
**

**Amirah- princess**

**sahibi- friend  
**


End file.
